August 8, 2025
The San Diego Growlers traveled cross-country on Friday, August 8 to face the Atlanta Hustle in the South Division Championship for the right to advance to Championship Weekend. San Diego fell short to Atlanta in their two regular season games, but the Growlers were confident about their chances after playing very competitively in each contest.
The Hustle started the game on offense and scored on a deep completion and the Growlers answered with an easy flow down the field for the score. The teams traded goals again, then San Diego converted the first break of the the contest with a Bryce Lozinski to Michael Tran connection. The Growlers earned their second consecutive break with a Casey Shugarman layout block, then after a timeout, Kyle Rubin found Daniel Brunker for the score and a 4-2 lead. The teams traded, then the Hustle were fortunate to reel in a tipped disc for a buzzer beater goal to end the first quarter, 5-4.
Energized by their last score, Atlanta's defense stepped it up with 2 blocks that led to three straight break scores to take the lead, 7-5. Desperate to stop the bleeding, Khalif El-Salaam silenced the crowd with a 70 yard huck to Max Gibson for the goal. The Hustle quickly responded with a hold and two more breaks after Growlers turnovers to extend their lead 10-6. The Growlers got back on track with a Stefan Samu score, then a Gibson interception led to a Tran to Max Hume break. Atlanta scored with 28 seconds left and prevented a Growlers score at the buzzer to take the 11-8 lead into halftime.
The two heavyweights traded two goals each to begin the third quarter, then Gibson intercepted another Atlanta deep attempt and eventually assisted to Marcel Osborne who made an unbelievable diving catch. On the next point, Will Turner forced a Hustle throwaway, and Tynan Sander quickly found Shugarman in the end zone for a second consecutive break, 13-12. The teams traded with Travis Dunn assisting to El-Salaam, then an Atlanta dropped pull led to a Lozinski to Gibson break score to tie the game at 14-14. The Hustle scored with 47 seconds left after burning almost 2 minutes off the clock, and the Growlers couldn't capitalize on their last attempt after an uncharacteristic drop, 15-14.
The Growlers looked like they started the fourth quarter with a goal, but a questionable not in call led to a Hustle block and break. San Diego responded with a Gibson goal, then had a great chance to break after a Hume block, but a turnover gave the disc back to Atlanta for the hold. The Hustle held on offense, then the Growlers committed a series of ill-timed turnovers that led to three straight break scores and a 20-15 Atlanta lead. With the clock winding down, the teams traded scores, with the Hustle eventually celebrating a 22-18 victory and a berth to Championship Weekend.
The Growlers were led by Max Gibson (2 assists, 3 goals, 2 blocks) with a +7 performance and Khalif El-Salaam (3 assists, 2 goals) with a +4 effort. San Diego finished their 2025 campaign with an 8-6 winning record and can be proud of their season with a road playoff victory in Austin and three hard-fought, close battles with the Atlanta Hustle. The San Diego Growlers would like to thank their coaches, players, staff, fans, supporters, and sponsors for a successful year and are looking forward to 2026.
